More Than Friends
by Ahsirk
Summary: Before Mai Otome. A one-shot about Natsuki and Mai as roommates aspiring to become Otomes.


**More Than Friends**

**Disclaimer: Yes, I own Mai Otome. One more thing, I'm lying. **

**Eh, it's not ShizNat this time around? Take this how you will. An innocent story of sorts. Enjoy. **

* * *

Pressing the flat of the blade down, the fourteen year old girl ran it across the stone, sharpening its edge as the mantra of her uncle's design continually ran over and over in her head. "A safe knife is a sharp knife."

The blade she was working with, it wasn't a fancy looking one, but simple in its design. It did what it needed to do.

In town, she had seen many flashy and some down right gaudy blades that weren't worth a penny other than for show. She had neither the luxury nor the money to burn on useless things like that. Natsuki Kruger preferred practicality over pretty.

The raven haired girl was sharpening the last of her knives when her roommate walked in with a bag full of groceries.

"Hey Natsuki!" the younger girl greeted as she walked in.

"Oh hey, Mai," she answered back, sparing her roommate a glance.

Mai was an odd looking girl, now that Natsuki thought about it. She had red hair, a rarity from where she came from. Mai's homeland was Zipang, but she didn't like to talk about home much. The older girl couldn't blame her for that. She didn't much like talking about hers either.

Also, Mai had a peculiar eye color, a light shade of purple. Her most noticeable feature, however, was her massive rack. You couldn't blame Natsuki for taking notice of those things. They were hard to miss. It took the older girl quite a while to get used to them and to keep her attention on Mai's face rather than below, on those in-your-face assets of hers.

Natsuki's eyes unintentionally trailed down the other girl's figure.

"Why do you keep practicing with those things?" Mai asked, interrupting her roommate's not so innocent thoughts. "Once we become Otomes, we won't need weapons like that."

"They're multifunctional. It's always good to have one around," she answered quickly, looking away and internally berating herself for staring. Just when she thought she got used to those knockers.

"Besides, we can't rely on our robes all the time. What if the system malfunctions or some shi-." She stopped when she saw Mai give her a disapproving look.

Natsuki sighed. "Or something like that," she finished without the use of her colorful vocabulary. The redhead smiled at her small victory and giggled when the older girl frowned.

"The system hasn't crashed once since Garderobe was founded," Mai pointed out. "Anyways, what do you use all those knives for?"

"To stab things."

Mai placed a hand on her hip and gave her roommate a dirty look. Natsuki couldn't help but laugh.

"I got them from my Uncle on my thirteenth birthday. He used to carry a set of his own when he went traveling," she explained. "He's the black sheep of the Kruger family. Would've become King, but he ditched his royal obligations to wander the world, so my father ended up taking his place."

The redhead went still for a moment. Before Natsuki could ask what was wrong, Mai spoke.

"I take it you take after your Uncle's side of the family then?" she teased. When Natsuki looked up, she saw that Mai had turned her back on her.

"Yeah, yeah," Natsuki said dismissively, waving away the slightly tense atmosphere.

"Say, when's your birthday?" Mai asked, redirecting the conversation.

"August 15," she answered, only semi-present. Her attention was back on the blade.

"August 15," Mai repeated thoughtfully. "Natsuki!" she suddenly yelled, dropping whatever she was holding.

"What happened!" the older girl yelled back, snapping her head up to look at Mai. The redhead looked at her friend in disbelief.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" She looked upset.

Confused, Natsuki shot back defensively, "Tell you what!"

"Natsuki, how could you possibly forget?" Mai questioned, shaking her head in disappointment.

"Forget what?"

"Your birthday, silly!"

"What are you talking about?!" Natsuki could have sworn she told her it was on August 15.

"August 15 is in three days!" Mai exclaimed, getting touchy for being yelled at. Seeing the stunned look on Natsuki's face, realization dawned on Mai.

"Natsuki," she began, struggling between laughs, "I cannot believe…you forgot…your own birthday."

It took a moment for Mai's words to sink in. "Oh," Natsuki replied simply, when it finally hit her. "Well it's not like it's a big deal or anything," she added, trying to justify forgetting, turning a brilliant shade of red.

Recovering and wiping a tear from her eye, Mai smiled. "What do you want for your birthday," she asked enthusiastically, leaning over the chair her friend was sitting on.

"I don't need anything," Natsuki answered, sighing. Buying a present would mean spending money and Mai didn't have a sponsor yet. Mai was working a part time job to pay for the prerequisite classes for Garderobe. The classes were just an introduction to the basics. Mai would need to find a sponsor before taking the admissions test for Garderobe or, at the very least, several scholarships. Garderobe wasn't just notorious for producing competent battle maidens, but also for its notorious entry fees.

Natsuki didn't see what the big deal was about her birthday. Since her father was a king, he would host a giant celebration in honor of his daughter's birthday, but it really wasn't for her. She remembered having to put up with wearing a dress and talking to people she didn't really care for. She took in their false words and fakes smiles and returned them with those of her own. All to satisfy her father's expectations. She didn't need anything for her birthday.

"Nonsense, a gift isn't about getting something you need. Natsuki's gonna be older than me now," the redhead teased.

"I was always older," she pointed out, putting the sharpening stone away. Then Mai's eyes lit up and the older girl knew to fear.

"Let's go out and celebrate Friday night! We can celebrate finishing our test too! Kill two birds with one stone, as they say in Windbloom. Though that expression is a bit morbid, if you think about it."

Mai started to list out ideas for Friday, getting excited all by herself.

"Really, I don't need anything," Natsuki grumbled, but she knew Mai well enough by now to know the younger girl wasn't listening anymore.

Mai was stubborn in her own way. Although admirable, it was also annoying at times. As long as karaoke wasn't involved, Natsuki thought she would be able to survive anything Mai threw at her.

* * *

Mai glanced over at her roommate who was currently glued to the desk, surrounded by stacks of textbooks. The intensity, the anxiety coming from that corner of the room, they were forces too powerful to ignore.

Natsuki was wearing a pair of wrinkled black sweat pants and a black tank top. Her locks of beautiful ebony were in disarray from running her hands through them in frustration. They kept falling in her face to the point where the raven haired girl shyly asked her roommate for a hair tie. It was obvious that Natsuki wasn't used to asking for things or for help. Mai felt like she almost died from the cuteness of her friend's embarrassment.

Right now, a feeling of doom and gloom radiated from the older girl. Natsuki had been chained to her desk all day.

"You know, you wouldn't have to do this if you studied throughout the course instead of last minute." The sound of rustling papers greeted her ears. As Mai expected, she was being completely ignored.

If it was any other time than crunch time, Natsuki would've turned around at her cheeky comment to scowl at the redhead. She took her studies very seriously. Natsuki was the no-nonsense, down to earth type who worked like crazy when she set her mind to it. She's the type of person Mai never thought she'd become friends with, but they just worked somehow.

Having finished studying for the time being, Mai decided to go out for a walk to think of something to do.

"I'm going out for a bit, Natsuki," Mai called out halfway through the door.

"Mmm. Stay safe," Natsuki mumbled, glaring at the book in front of her as if it wronged her in someway.

* * *

She really should have told me sooner, Mai thought as she strolled down the sidewalk, passing by an assortment of shops that screamed anything, but Natsuki. Last minute shopping for the perfect present was always a stressful thing to do. Yesterday had passed by with no success.

The redhead giggled when she remember the look on her friend's face when she realized her birthday was coming up. It was priceless, but now the older girl looked like a train wreck. When it came to studying techniques, Mai guessed it really was to each her own.

Mai had to admit, that it was amusing to see the space around Natsuki fall into chaos when studying. Papers, highlighters, pens. All of them would be scattered on the floor around the older girl. A small radius of entropic disaster against a clean floor was proof of the extremity of Natsuki's study habits.

Also, Natsuki with glasses was down right adorable. Coupled with the tussled hair, she looked cuter than usual. But Mai came to realize that, without a doubt, Natsuki was oblivious to her own attractiveness. Instead of ignoring guys who hit on her, it was more like Natsuki didn't even consider the possibility that they were doing it in the first place. However, Natsuki wouldn't be Natsuki without the denseness.

But what to get such a girl?

Mai glanced at a window with mannequins in stylish outfits. Natsuki was not into fashion. She wore nothing but black or dark blue. Despite this, anything Natsuki put on looked good. It was like she made the clothes look good rather than the other way around.

Next, she saw the most beautiful bracelet on display. Natsuki found jewelry a worthless hassle. Extra weight, waste of time to put on, and could snag of anything. Mai could just hear her friend lecturing on and on about the disadvantages of accessories. Natsuki wasn't much of a talker until she got to know you and when she did talk, it was only about subjects she strongly loathed.

Mai continued on her way, passing by a Build-A-Bear workshop. Natsuki was definitely not the type to want a giant teddy bear. That image was just too weird for Mai, even when she'd seen some of Natsuki's girly sides, that was a bit much.

Natsuki cuddling up with a stuffed animal? No, not possible. Mai mentally waved the disturbing image away.

They were both around the same age, but anything Mai would want was definitely not something Natsuki would want.

Mai didn't have nearly as much knowledge on weapons as Natsuki did, so getting her one of those was out of the question. She would probably pick out some overpriced, useless, but cool looking knife that Natsuki would see through in a heartbeat for the knockoff it really was. Her roommate loved those sharp and pointy objects of hers.

Mai shook her head, willing herself to focus. Natsuki's birthday was tomorrow. There was no time to waste. Natsuki would probably like something she could use. Something practical.

Then Mai saw it. The perfect gift. Definitely, she'll definitely use something like this, Mai thought grinning.

* * *

Gah! I need a break.

Natsuki slammed the textbook shut. It was beginning to melt her brain into mush. She tossed off her glasses, rubbing her eyes before looking out the window.

She checked to see if Mai was back. Seeing that the coast was clear, Natsuki hobbled over to her bed. Pulling out Duran from under her pillow and sliding onto the bed, she cuddled him close to her chest.

If Mai saw her like this, hugging a stuffed toy dog, she knew she would never live it down.

Sometimes Natsuki hated how she was more productive under pressure. She didn't do nearly as well when studying over a long period of time like Mai. What she did like was that the class was curved. It was a means of keeping the class competitive. So, as long as the majority of the class sucked compared to her, it was all good.

Suddenly, Natsuki heard footsteps from outside.

"Crap!" Mai was back already?!

Natsuki shoved Duran back under her pillow, sending silent apologizes to him for being so rough. Just in time too.

"Hey, I'm home," Mai called out, stepping inside.

"Welcome back," she greeted, slightly flustered.

Mai strolled in, carrying a small bag in her hands. She eyed Natsuki suspiciously when she saw her staring at it. "It's your present. No peeking."

Natsuki sighed. Mai had bought her a present.

"You really didn't have to get me anything," Natsuki said, suddenly serious. It made her uncomfortable, someone going out of their way for her. She eyed the bag wearily.

"If it's about the cost, let me reassure you. Your present was pretty cheap." Mai smiled, winking at her friend.

"Uh-huh," Natsuki replied, feeling only slightly better. She laid back down on her bed, hands behind her back. It would be too much to ask her to return it. She sighed.

The raven haired girl let out another long sigh when she remembered what tomorrow was. From previous experience, prolonged breaks from studying led to permanent breaks. Then to moments of being royally screwed. Like a responsible student, she voluntarily chained herself back to her desk, back to textbook hell.

* * *

On the day of the test and Natsuki's birthday, the pressure finally hit Mai. She was fidgeting with her pencil, skimming through her notes for a quick review, anxious to get the test over with, yet not quite ready to take it yet.

By this point, Natsuki was too mentally worn out from frantic studying to be nervous. When the test was handed out, she looked indifferent, which people misinterpreted as acting like she didn't care. That made her look pretty badass.

"So how'd you do?" Mai asked, coming over to her friend's desk.

"I think I did ok. Not bad." Natsuki said, packing up her stuff.

"You always say that and yet you always end up getting high marks," Mai huffed, pretending to look annoyed.

"That's not the point. The point is to not get your hopes up," Natsuki replied sagely.

"So you're never let down when you get your test back?"

"Exactly. Besides, the test's over with. Can't do anything about our grades now. Might as well forget about it until we get them back," she said shrugging.

"So rational. So practical. So Natsuki." Mai grinned.

Natsuki rolled her eyes at the other girl. "So what about you?"

Grinning, the redhead gave her a thumbs up. "I knew most of it so I should be fine. Now, we celebrate our survival." Mai grabbed the birthday girl's arm and the two of them were off to town.

* * *

Natsuki flipped the lights on and walked into the apartment. She yawned, stretched and then promptly plopped down on her bed.

The food was good, so good in fact that the raven haired girl would soon fall into a food coma. Add to the fact that dinner was relatively cheap and that she was one thrifty individual, Natsuki was one extremely happy camper. A good way to end her birthday would be to conk out and sleep in the next day.

Shoes, she was still wearing her shoes as she laid on the bed. She decided to dangle her feet off the bed to solve the problem of the covers getting dirty.

"Natsuki!" Mai scolded as she saw shoed feet.

"My birthday," the older girl groaned futilely, hoping Mai would leave her alone. You're supposed to let the birthday girl do whatever she wanted, right? Birthday wishes were powerful incantations, after all.

Natsuki had one arm slung over her face, but knew Mai was glaring at her. The redhead's motherly instincts we're kicking in, while the older girl's survival instincts were fighting the lazy haze of an incoming food coma.

Natsuki decided it was best to humor her roommate. No point in starting an argument. Mai did find that awesome restaurant that gave free cakes to customers with birthdays. All you had to do was tell a waiter.

Getting up, she grumbled curses as she kicked off her shoes and placed them neatly next to the door.

"Good girl," Mai teased playfully. She grinned while patting Natsuki's head as she made her way back to bed. Natsuki was too tired to shoot back a witty retort, much less anything that made sense. She fell face first into her pillow. Heaven, that was what it was to her.

"Don't fall asleep just yet. I need to give you your present."

"Mnvnjfl."

Muffled sounds came from Natsuki as her face was still buried in her pillow. When Mai returned, gift in hand, the redhead found her friend fast asleep.

"Really! I guess I'll give it to you tomorrow," Mai whispered to herself, only vaguely disappointed. "You tire out too easily, Natsuki-chan." She giggled, knowing her roommate would hate being called that.

Tucking in the birthday girl, Mai smiled at the sight of a small stream of drool. Natsuki looked like a tough girl, but she was as soft as a marshmallow on the inside and just as sweet. She carefully pulled back strands of silken black locks away from her friend's face. Truly sweet.

Mai placed the gift on the nightstand and made her way to bed. She fell fast asleep, free of worry. No more tests to take.

* * *

"Natsuki! Happy Day After Your Birthday!" Mai hollered, stretching out the present to her sleepy eyed friend. Natsuki shot up into a sitting position and blinked at the small box in front of her face. It was decorated in shiny blue wrapping paper and a yellow bow so vibrant in color that the thing could kill brain cells with just one look. She then blinked at the bright smile on Mai's face and without a second thought fell back into bed.

"Natsuki! It's already two in the afternoon. That's sixteen hours of sleep!" the redhead scolded, ripping the covers off Natsuki. In the absence of secure warmth, she shivered and curled up to her side. She groaned at the cruelty of the world.

"I made breakfast." The older girl's ears perked up.

"Bacon and eggs." She turned her head slightly towards Mai's voice, eyes still closed.

"And pancakes." Fighting a losing battle with her stomach, she slowly got up and out of bed. Once she made her way to the table, already salivating, ready to eat, Mai smirked.

"Just kidding."

It took a moment for Natsuki to process that she had been deceived. She blinked several more times that afternoon before turning around and glaring at her supposed friend. She should have known! If such a feast existed, she would have smelled the food cooking and woken up on her own accord. That lying hussy!

Since her body ached from sleeping for so long, Natsuki decided she wasn't in the best of conditions to tackle the redhead to the ground. Instead she settled for glowering, a menacing glower that went ignored by her roommate.

Mai placed a bowl of Ramen in front of Natsuki. The older girl's left eye twitched. Mai rolled her eyes, not feeling the slightest bit guilty. She went over to the nightstand and picked up the present.

"Here," Mai said, placing it in front of Natsuki.

Natsuki scowled, but took the box anyway, tearing away the wrapping paper without reserve. She was graced with the sight of a smaller box with more of that seizure inducing color. Natsuki rolled her eyes at Mai's grin. Once another, even smaller box was uncovered inside, Natsuki stopped to look at her friend.

"You can't be serious?" she asked with a deadpan expression on her face. "Did you get me a set of boxes for my birthday?"

"Just keep going, lazybones," Mai replied laughing. "That's the last of them, I swear. The present's inside that one." Seeing the older girl hesitant, the redhead added, "Oh, just open it, Natsuki." Taking a second to eye Mai wearily, Natsuki pulled the top off, hoping it wasn't another fake out. This time it wasn't.

"Do you like it?" Mai asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. She had been confident that Natsuki would love it when she bought it, but now she wasn't so sure as the raven haired girl stayed silent. She wasn't expecting much of a reaction from her usually reserved friend, but anything other than silence would have done enough to ease her mind.

Was it too feminine? She knew her friend had a certain image she was going for. Mai felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach.

Sitting neatly in the box was a silver hairpin. It wasn't in the shape of a butterfly or something girly like that, but of a lightning bolt, a cool looking one at that. It was an accessory, but an acceptable one, which made the borrowing of Mai's hair ties unnecessary. The gift was both practical and pretty.

"Could…could you put it on for me?" Natsuki asked timidly, blushing slightly for asking such a request of her friend. Relieved that her instincts on Natsuki's preferences weren't off, Mai broke out into a smile and nodded.

Once the clip was in place, Mai guided her friend towards the bathroom mirror. Natsuki traced her fingers over the silvery, smooth surface. The reflection before her looked of someone older, something she'd been trying to do for a while now, being self conscious of her baby face. And sometimes, although she didn't like to admit it, even to herself, she wanted to look more feminine. The gift was perfect.

Overwhelmed with emotions new to her, but needing to do something with them, Natsuki turned around and pulled the redhead into a bear hug. Completely shocked by Natsuki's unusual behavior, it took Mai a few moments before she returned her friend's hug, patting Natsuki's back affectionately.

Natsuki never had a any real friends before, but at that moment she was sure of one thing. There was no doubt. More than friends, Mai and her were best friends.

* * *

**More than friends, they're best friends. xD **

**Whoot! Alright, done with that little idea that's been swimming in my head for a while. There just wasn't enough back story about the HiME characters in Otome to satisfy me. **


End file.
